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PAGE 6A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MARCH 9. 2017
‘The Voice of North Georgia’ speaks to Ball Ground Historians
By Larry Cavender
Contributing writer
For 60 years, his leg
endary voice has filled the
radio airwaves of north cen
tral Georgia with local news
and information. Eighty-one-
year old Byron Dobbs ap
peared before the Ball
Ground Historical Society at
their February 28th meeting
and reminisced about his
early years of broadcasting at
WCHK Radio in Canton.
His radio career began on
April 11th, 1957 when
WCHK AM first began
broadcasting from their stu
dios in Canton, where he held
numerous positions at the sta
tion ranging from copywriter,
salesman, and news editor,
before eventually working
his way up to Vice President
and General Manager, a posi
tion he held for over thirty-
five years. He virtually
worked at every job at the
station before becoming
General Manager.
Dobbs noted that in 1957,
WCHK was actually a spin
off of WSB Radio in Atlanta,
when radio announcers Mike
McDougald and Bob Peter
son left WSB to begin oper-
Byron Dobbs, the former
vice president and general
manager of WCHK AM and
FM radio in Canton, spoke
to the Tuesday, February
28th meeting of the Ball
Ground Historical Society.
Dobbs has been a local
broadcaster for nearly 60
years.
ating "Georgia's Good
Neighbor," adding that
WCHK's long and storied
success was due in large part
to the radio station's early
connections to WSB. The
1,000 watt AM station later
expanded in the early 1960's
to include a more powerful
3,000 watt FM radio station
which enabled their broad
casts to be heard throughout
the greater part of north
Georgia. WCHK ceased to
exist about a decade ago
when it became a Spanish
language broadcasting sta
tion.
During his career, Dobbs
has received many awards
from the Georgia Association
of Broadcasters, culminating
with Broadcaster of the Year
honors in 1997 and being in
ducted into the Georgia
Broadcaster's Hall of Fame in
2008. Just recently, Dobbs
was named Cherokee
County's First Citizen of
2017.
Dobbs retired from
WCHK in November of 1997
and his last day at the station
found him filling-in for a
Sunday morning part-time
radio announcer, but his ca
reer didn't end there. The
next day, Dobbs began work
ing for WLJA FM, whose
studio is located on South
Main Street in Jasper, and
WPGY AM in Ellijay. Later,
he became part-owner of the
two stations with Randy
Gravley, and continues work
ing with these two radio sta
tions to this day.
Life-long Ball Ground residents David Byers and Ray
mond Cheshire reminisce with Byron Dobbs about the early
years of WCHK which began broadcasting on April 11,
1957 as "Georgia’s Good Neighbor" from studios located
in south Canton.
While speaking to the Ball
Ground Historical Society,
Dobbs reminisced about his
and WCHK's connections to
the town, including working
with advertising clients Cora
Hubbard of Hubbard's Store
and A. J. Darby at the Circle
K Music Store. He remem
bered the live broadcasts of
the popular Ball Ground
Opry music shows during the
early 1980's, his reporting on
the early Ball Ground Spring
Festivals, and his coverage of
the tragic Yellow Creek Tor
nado in April of 1974 which
left seven Cherokee and
Pickens County residents
dead.
He also recalled working
with several of WCHK's
more popular disc-jockeys,
including country music dee-
jay Bill Kelley and sidekick
Norton in the 1970's, and, in
the 1980's, gospel deejay Tim
Cavender, a life-long resident
of Ball Ground, whose on-air
name was Tim Lawson.
Dobbs noted that two other
Ball Ground natives, Dick
Byrd and Chris Clayton, who
both began their careers at
WCHK, are still in broad
casting.
Dobb's presentation even
tually evolved into a discus
sion as many in the historical
society's audience began to
share their many pleasant
memories of WCHK.
Leonard Clayton, coinciden
tally, the father of deejay
Chris Clayton, recalled play
ing guitar with the Cherokee
Valley Boys and providing
music for many of WCHK's
early live broadcasts.
At the conclusion of the
meeting, Historical Society
President Karen Jordan pre
sented Dobbs with a certifi
cate stating the name Byron
Dobbs will be enshrined with
an engraved brick in the Ball
Ground Botanical Garden,
compliments of the local his
torians.
Alzheimer’s group to host
legal and financial program
The diagnosis of
Alzheimer’s disease makes
planning for the future more
important than ever. Con
cerns about care provision
and programs that can help
offset costs mean that fami
lies need accurate informa
tion about legal and financial
planning specific to the dis
ease. The Alzheimer’s Asso
ciation will host a Legal and
Financial Planning education
program on Wednesday
March 29 from 11 to 2 at
Jasper United Methodist
Church in Jasper. Elder law
attorney Sharon McCoy and
financial planner Jeff Riblet
will be guest speakers at the
event.
Legal and Financial Plan
ning is an interactive two-
part program where atten
dees will have a chance to
learn about important legal
and financial issues to con
sider, how to put plans in
place, and how to access
legal and financial resources.
This program will cover in
formation for families and
individuals dealing with
Alzheimer’s disease or a re
lated dementia.
The workshop is spon
sored in part by the Area
Agency on Aging. There is
no cost for the program.
Lunch will be provided and
registration is required. Seat
ing is limited. To register,
please contact the
Alzheimer’s Association at
800.272.3900.
Beauty and the
Beast
Tuesday, March 14th at 5
p.m., get ready for the release
of the live-action of a Disney
classic of an adaptation of the
Disney fairy tale about a
monstrous beastly prince and
a young girl name Belle by
watching the 1991 Disney
version. A simple craft and
refreshments will be pro
vided. For all ages; 9 &
under must be accompanied
by an adult.
OverDrive: eBooks
and Audiobooks
Wednesday, March 15
from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 2
- 4 p.m., learn how to down
load free eBooks and audio
books on your eReader or
tablet. Schedule a 30-minute
personal help session to an
swer your questions. Before
attending please make sure
that your library card is up-
to-date and that you have a li
brary PIN number.
Registration is required and
opens March 1st. To register
or for more information,
please contact Pickens
County Library at 706-692-
5411.
Homeschool Art Fair
Reception
The Pickens County Li
brary will be collecting
works of art created by kids
& teens in the Homeschool
community. Artwork must be
dropped off at the library by
Monday, March 6th, and the
Art Fair Reception will be
held on March 15th.
Story Time
Come join us, for Story
Time, Thursday, March 16th
for Story Time. Lapsit-story
time starts at 10:30 a.m., and
is designed for children ages
1-3. Family Story time is also
on March 16th at 3:30 p.m.,
and all ages are invited. For
more information, please
contact the Pickens County
Library at 707-692-5411.
Master Gardeners:
Make-N-Take Work-
‘Chick Days’ leads to fresh eggs,
unexpected benefits, expert says
Tractor Supply helping
Jasper-area families
get started with poultry
Jasper-area families in
pursuit of homegrown fresh
eggs will discover some un
expected benefits from keep
ing a backyard flock,
according to poultry expert
Kathy Shea Mormino.
Mormino, creator of the
popular backyard chicken
blog The Chicken Chick and
a poultry consultant with
Tractor Supply Company,
says the initial allure of rais
ing chickens is typically fresh
eggs, but families quickly
discover that keeping chick
ens becomes a hobby with
abundant and unexpected re
wards.
"Long before the first
eggs are collected from nest
boxes, most chicken keepers
are pleasantly surprised to
find that chickens offer many
benefits in addition to their
wholesome, nutritious contri
bution to the family table,”
Mormino says. ‘■‘Chickens
also provide exceptional gar
den fertilizer, organic pest
control and good, clean fam
ily entertainment and stress
reduction.”
To help families get
started raising chickens,
Tractor Supply near Jasper
will host Chick Days, a 10-
week springtime event fea
turing live baby chicks and
ducklings for purchase in
store.
“With more families in
vesting in sustainability and
growing food at home, inter
est in keeping backyard
chickens for fresh, healthy
eggs has grown too,” said
Seth Estep, vice president, di
visional merchandise man
ager at Tractor Supply. “With
trusted advice and a compre
hensive selection of poultry
products, Chick Days at
Tractor Supply is a one-stop
shop for experienced enthu
siasts as well as families who
are just starting their back
yard flock.”
The Chick Days event,
which continues through
April, features the supplies
needed to start and care for a
flock including starter kits,
feeders, bedding, heat bulbs
and lamps, coops and more.
Tractor Supply stores and
TractorSupply.com stock the
items needed to properly
raise and care for backyard
poultry year-round.
Visit
TractorSupply. com/Chicks
for expert information on
safe handling and care for
poultry, building a chicken
coop, and more.
Sprint
Keep pollen under
control and get more enjoyment out of your home!
if
447 Harmony School Rd., Jasper, GA
Showroom Hours: Wed-Fri 10-4 or by appt
Business: 706-301-5698
Website: www.myenclosedporch.com
Between the Bookends
By Emma Ingle, Pickens County Librarian
Transform your screened porch into
a beautiful three-season room with
affordable Eze-Breeze®sliding panels ...
shop - Seedlings
Thursday, March 16th at
1:30 p.m., learn how to jump
start flower/vegetable
seedlings before the ground
thaws with Pickens County
Master Gardeners. There will
be a soil testing demo, and
you’ll be shown how to prop
erly plant and care for
seedlings indoors.
Make and take home a
mini greenhouse along with
plant markers you design and
make yourself. All materials
provided. Registration is re
quired and opens March 2nd.
To register or for more infor
mation, please contact Pick
ens County Library at
706-692-5411.
Don't forget our
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your new porch!
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adjustable
• Offer transparency
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• Authorized PGT
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Across from Walmart
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